Air-ship.



PATBNTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.,

A. G. RUSSELL.

AIR SHIP l Arrmoulror rILnD snr'r. 14. l1905.

l 7l l i l\ Zeffir- PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

A. G. RUSSELL,` AIR SHIP; APPLIUATION FIISED SEPT.14. 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED SEPT. 24, 1907.

A. e. RUSSELL.

AIR SHIP. APPLIOATION FILED sEPT.14. 1995.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

, said tankwhen the air ship is required' to descend. A separate pipe, with cock located in the car, is exi tended from the compression. tank tothe collapsible UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIOE.v

. ARTHUR e. RUSSELL, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

AIR-sm?.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented septas, 190'?.

Application tiled September 14, 1905. Serial No. 278,406.

To all` whom tmay concern:

'De it known that I, ARTHUR G. RUSSELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at 163 WestTwenty-tirst street, San Diego, county of San Diego, State of Cali- `fornia, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in AirShips, fully described and represented in the followingl specification and the accompanying drawings, iol-ming a part of the same.

This invention relates to variousl improvements 'inf an air ship for promoting its navigation, and. particularly for causing the ship to rise ordescend' in the air without any loss of gas or ballast.

The air ship is' provided with a gas balloon of" socalled cigar shape and tapered from its largest diameter towardl the ends, forming sides having straight lines to which aero-plane wings can be hinged.

A collapsible compartment is'formed in the upper partei the balloon, and the balloon is provided with an inclo'sed car carrying a motor, a compression tank, and 'a pump actuated i155 a motor or'drawing gasirom vthe collapsible' compartment, and compressingit in the compartment `to restore the gas` thereto when itis desired to ascend. Theouter side of the compartment shrinks wheny the gas is abstracted 4therefrom for compression, and the bulk of the air ship is thus diminished descend.

'without altering its gravity, which causes :the whole to Means is provided for vsetting the aero-plane wings in an `operative position, so that when the ship is dcscrendingthe' wings may` cause a forward movement of the I ""ship. A"sc'reW-propeller is actuated by the motor to drive'the air; ship forward, and the aero-plane wings may-be operated'to cause an ascent of the shipdurin'g vitsorward movement. The coperation of'the com- The invention also includes a belt-propeller having blades projected belowthe bottom ofthe car yto useW-ith or without the screw propeller.

In the annexed drawing, .Figure lis-a'diagrammatic elevation of the airship with the aero-plane wings in an inoperative position. Fig. 2, is a plan of the same with the aero-planes extended, the'parte connected with Vthe rudder-s beingshown in section. Fig. 3 is a cross section of the balloon on line 3,3, in Figs. 1 and 6;

Fig. 4 isan end view oi the frameior one f the wings;

Fig. 5 is a side viewoftlie same; Fig. 6 is an elevation moved to show the interior; Fig. 7l isla plan of the same with the roof removed to show the interior; Fig. 8is a cross section of the caronline 8, 8, in Fig. 6, with partment. Fig. 9 is a view of the right hand end of Fig. 6 enlarged with the end wall of the compression tank removed; Figs. 10 and 11 are diagrams` showing the aero-planes respectively in their inoperative and voi the car and its attachments vwith the nearer wall relines showing the balloon and the kcollapsible comoperative positions. Fig. 12 is a cross section on line 5 12, 12, in. Fig. 2. Fig. 13'shows one of the sewed patches.

A designates the reail end- `of the balloon tapering backwardly, and A the front end of the balloon taper` ling forwardlyfrom 'the largest part 3 which is nearest `the forward end.

Figs. 1 and 2 show the car with wide body B, having a narrow projection C at the forward end which carries the screw-propeller D, and` a narrow projection E at the rearwardv e'nd which carries the compression tank F and the belt, propeller .G. i

Alleys'are -formed in the projections C and E to gain access to the ends. The wings H are shown 'connected by straight line hinges I to the sides ofthe balloon-part` A, and fin-shaped rudders J are shown hinge'dupon aluminium plates l( secured upon the cheeks of the forward balloon-part A. The top and sides of the car`are"inclosed within the bottom of the balloon', and the caris formed of frame-work of aluminiun tubes and aluminium Wire netting, with a skin of suitable material, as lSilk, to make it gas-tight, where immersed in the gas of the balloon. The collapsible 'compartment L is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and V8 inthey upper central part of the balloon.

Figs.' 6 and 7 show` an engine a'connected by for# wardly extending shaft b with the screw-propeller D. Gasoleno or fuel tanks a are shown in the bottom of the alley Eior supplying the engine. `The engine is connected with a rotary'pump c by gearszl, the inlet of the pump having a pipe ev extended through the roof ol the car and connected by a' fiexible pipe f withthe bottom of the collapsible compartment.

The outlet of the pump is connected by u. pipe i and cock j with the compression tank F, so that.' gas l .drawn from the compartment may be compressed in the tank.

The tank is connected independently with the compartment by a pipe g and hose h, the pipe having a cock g in the car or engine room B, by which the,`

gas may be restored tothe compartment at pleasure.

, f The bottom. ol .the car, under the narrow projection E is provided abelt-propcller, consistingoitwo pulleys having a canvas belt k extendedbver the same and carrying propeller blades l which are hinged bottom of the belt (and below the bottomline of the lcar) by cam-lugs m, which move (when in their lower the blades projected. A pulley n drives the belt, by

connection with a pulley 'n/ upon a shaft p inside the car, which is lconnected to a backwardextension of the engine shaft b by gearing q which can be disv made,4 as shown in Figs. 3,' 4 and 5, of longitudinal I. the shaft.

aluminium tubes 1' connected by fittings r to transverse tubes s.v i

The frame is 4stiffened by tie-rods s, and the lower part is shown formed with hinge pintles I to engage fabric loops I `which are shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

and extended through a tube U to windlasses in the car.

A strap u is shown in .Figf3across the top of the balloon with pulleys o upon the ends over vwhich the cord u2 is extended, and led past pulleys 'v upon the wings. A pull upon the cor-du serves to lower the wings to their operative position', as shown-in Fig. l1, while a pull upon the cord u2 operates (on application of the'pulleys o) to raise the-wings,. as -shownin Fig. 1o.

The windlasses x, er, as shown in IFig. 7, are connected by 'gears w with the rearwardly extending engine shaft by means ofa reversible clutch-box on The cords enteringthe car from the tubes U are guided over pulleys y, y, to the barrels of the Windlasses. 'I

The cords u are wound leachupon one end of the two barrels,` and the cords u2 are wound upon' the opposite ends of the same barrels, and are Wound upon such sides oi the barrels, and the barrels so rotated (as shown by the arrows zin- Fig. 3) that the cord u is drawn -in when ,the cord u2 is let out, and vice'versaf The windlasses operate simultaneously, so as to raise ,or lower both of the'wings at the same time, and the gearing may be Alocked by a brake upon the reversible clutch-box when the wings are properly adjusted. v The hinge-pins of the rudders .l (see Fig. 1 which` must necessarily lie in a straight line, are appliedtransversely to the balloon-,part A, and thusnecessi- A[ta/te thejuseof the inwardly curved. metallic plates K' to form a seatfor the hinge'and also a fulcrum l for toggle-links m which are used to actuate the rudders when required. Windlasses n* provided with cranks o are shown in Figs. 2 and 13, in the narrow forward extension C of the car, and the sides of the extension C are connected with the plates K bygtubes p, which cords q are extended from the joint v of the toggle-links to the windlasses. By means of position) `in contact with' a cam-bar owhich holds i the windlasses, a rudder may be thrown forwardly, as shown at the upper side of Fig. 2, to steer the air ship toward that side, and when the tension o the cord q 'is relaxed, the air current forces the rudder backwardly to an inoperative position. l

Operation of th'e air shin-The balloon is proportioned so that it may carry rather more than the load imposed upon it, so that it tends normally to rise, but can ,be caused to descend by pumping gas from the compartment L into the tank F. WhenY thus descending, the aero-planes may be set to cause a forward movement, so that the ship is propelled forwardly without the use of any propeller. The ship may be ag'ain raised by expanding gas from the tank into the collapsible compartment, and the wings may then be set to again 'cause a forward movement, by which the ship is advanced without using the propelle'xs. The

v Propellers maybe used singly or inconjunction t0 drive the sxhip-y forward, and the wings set during such propulsion'to cause the ship to ascend or 'descend as desired, eitherof the rudders being thrown outwardly v the operator can descend into the cage for taking ani n extended View.

I prefer to makethe body of the balloon .in pieces of fabric between two and three feet square, sewed together with 'reinforced seams,'by.which the balloon is made veryv much stronger' and is more easily constructed than when formed inlarge sections or strips which extend'all the way aroundthe body or eritend longitudinally along its length. i

Where the longwingsare' hinged-.upon the body of .the balloon,.the body may be made of. double thickness for about two feet in width ornthelength of the wing.

It will b 'understood that large fra1nes,as those of the car, the rudder and the wings are made of aluminium tubing covered with wire'netting and ysuitable fabric.v .The wire netting upon the frames of the car Iwould'be covei'lediwithr sheets of asbestos to rnake it incombustible and to prevent the conduction of heat to the gas in. the surrounding balloon. `To further prevent the conduction 'of heat (to the gas in the balloon) 'or rejfrom the car which contains the vengine lio and combustible material, inclosed .air spaces Lmay beprovided upon the sides andntop 'off-'tbe cangwhere inclosed inthe balloon.

.- Partitions L forming such air spaces are snown 'in Fig; 12, the air spaces being' of triangular form and 4filled with air to prevent the conduction of heat. The

Aloon and sewing to such patches the rods or tubes of which the frame of the car is formed.

- supports the fabric strongly upon the rear end ofthe laterally: The partition 'L which -ornis the collapsif E, and theV elevation or depression of the balloon, by

- constructions.

vas a pilot to steer and guide the balloon, and the other 'ate the motorn and propeller. lThe frontend of the car, which is shown sloping downward adjacent to t The weight oi the car may be-sustained by straps or ropes secured at one end `to patches upon the body of the balloon, and at the other `end to theV frame-worko the car, asmerely indicated by the lines L2 in Fig. 12..

To prevent the rear 4end of the balloon from turning upwardly by its levity, a rigid brace rod H is extended backwardly from the rear end `of the car along the lower side of the balloon, as'shown in Fig. 2, such rod being supported upon the rear end of the car by braces h. 'The' rod may be connected strongly with the rear end of the balloon by a ring of .aluminium c which rod.

Instead of using the windlass n* for operating the rudders J, the cords q may be fastened to the car bottom, and the ruddersfworked by. pressingthe cords ble compartment in the upper part oi the balloon is held in its normal position, and prevented ii'rorn bulging outwardly when ern-ptied by means of the pipes f and h which are extended from the top of the car.

An .open passage'extends from one end to the other oi thecar through the body B and projections C and inclining its body upwardly or downwardly when 'in motion, 1s effected bythe operator moving backward or forward within the car, as is common in such With the various features described, a perfectly safe construction is provided in which the heat oi the engine 'cannot reach 'the gas in the balloon so as to explode or ignite the same.

YIt is preferable to have two operators, one serving as engineer acting under the pilots directions to oper- -the propeller is furnished with Window pane Q by which a view can be taken forward or down-ward; and a cage P is shown below thel car, with trap door Q2 in the bottoni koi the car, by entering which cage the pilot can have an extended View in every direction. The pilot can thus direct the engineer and control the movement oi the car with perfect "facility I am awareitthzat curved wings have been hinged' upon a balloon bodynear the top, and I do not therefore claim such wings, but flat wings projected from I I the sides of the body diametrically irom oneanother, and in my claims I have therefore termed such wings Having thus set forth the nature of the invention what is claimed herein is:

1. In. an airship, the combination, with a gas balloon havingV a conical body, of dat aeroplones. of diminished width toward the rear end, having longitudinal hinges jointed upon the sides of sold body diametrically opposite one another, a car carried by the body, and amotorand means located upon the car with connections foi raising and lowering the aeroplanes when desired.

.2. 1n an air ship, the combination, with a gas balloon having la conical body, of flat aeroplanes of diminished 'width 'toward the rear end, having longitudinal hinges jointed upon the sides of said body dumetricnlly opposite one another, a cnr inclosed within the bottom of the balloon and having curved guide tubes extended from its bottom upwardly along the sides of the balloon, a motel' and n'indlass carried within the car, undcords extended from the aeroplanos to the bottom of tle balloon body, through the guide tubes, Iand thence to the windlass Within the car for moving the aeroplanes when desired.

I}.An air ship comprising a gas balloon A, A', having an inclosed car B, the body of the balloon being made of woven fabric, a member, as the wing H, hinged upon the woven fabric and haylng'a straight-hingepln I, and the balloon fabric having reinforcing patches I' sewed thereon and fnrnlshedwith loops to engage said hinge-pin.

- 4. An air ship comprising a gas balloon A, A', having an inclosed cnr B, the body of the balloon being made of -woven fabric, iinfrudders J projected at opposite sides of the balloon upon the conical iront part A and provided `with straight hinge-pins, and a metallic `frameor plate Al( fitted to the conical par`t A' and secured to the balloon` fabric and furnished with loops to engage the hinge-pins upon the rudders. f'

5. An oir sllipcomprising a gas balloon tapered toward both ends and having an inclosed cnr, iin rudders hinged `transversely to the conical front end of the balloon, togglelinks having their ends attached respectively to the rear sides of the rudders and to the conical front end, and cords extended from the joint of the links to the lnclosed car for moving the rudder-s. 0. Angair ship comprising gas balloon having an inclosed cai', and provided within-the upper part with n partition forming a collapsible compartment, undA connec tions extended ifrom the top of the cnr to the bottom of the compartment to hold the partition-'of the compartment in position.

- In testimony whereof I have hereunto sctmy hand in the presence of two subscribing' witnesses.

J. L. Faustino, W. HoLmNo'roN. 

